Bought 3 copies of Storm Front as Christmas presents - already had 2 appreciative texts back and my sister hasn't started reading her copy yet but i'm sure she'll like it - so 2 more added to the Dresden fan club and probably one more to come

Munny, Munny. have you seen wiki and the plot synopis for Changes.? OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD!

Is that true? How can it have happened? What will it mean for Harry?*

Being nicely vauge so as not to spoil things for people who don't want to know or haven't read that far into the series yet!

*Jumps up and down*

*calms down a clearly overexcited Harley* Yep! I have seen the plot synopsis and the opening line of the book! Now, as for the is it true and how can it have happened:

HUGE COLOSSAL MAHOOSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD FOR MOST OF THE SERIES ALONG WITH (PROBABLY COMPLETELY WRONG) SPECULATION FOR CHANGES - HIGHLIGHT TO READIs it true? Yep, i think so. And as for the how it happened: pure speculation here but i am guessing Susan got pregnant in Death Masks when she comes back to Chicago to kill Ortega. Death Masks has the only sex scene in the books which Jim Butcher has actually really devoted some narrative to - usually he just implies it and JB has gone on record saying that he doesn't really like writing those kind of scenes (he's not LKH) so the fact that he actually devoted a page or two to it means that it must be important.

EVEN MORE SPECULATION, WITH SPOILERS FOR CHANGES AHEAD!Now, as for the what it means for Harry. We already know that he has a highly developed protective instinct regarding women generally, which goes doubly for Susan - hell, he started a war with the vampire courts because they hurt her, so if his daughter has been taken by the red court then i think Harry would cheerfully throw all the laws of magic out the window in order to get her back.

It really comes down to how he's going to do it. Will he take up Mabs offer and take the mantle of the winter knight? Will he take back Lasciels coin (i'm not convinced Lasciels shadow is gone btw, but that's a whole different conversation)and go all denarian on the red courts collective arses (if the red court do indeed actually have arses. If not then i'm sure Harry'll find something else to kick)?, will he take up one (or both) of the holy blades he is still holding onto and use them?

Would the person we are referring to be fully human? Would the baddies really hurt her?

I doubt he'll pick up a sword, he tried that before and it all went abit wrong. I do think the shadow has gone for good. He could take up the offer, that would be intresting.

S'ok! I'm excited too!

SPOILERS AHOY!Would she be fully human? Good question. Answer: No idea. Dad is a full blown wizard, mum is a half turned red court vamp. According to Dresden, magic mostly comes from the mothers side of the family, so whether she'd be a wizard or not i am not sure. And i don't know whether the kid would have inherited the red court "infection" from Susan either. Could be a perfectly normal little girl, could be a wizard with a blood craving!

Would the baddies really hurt her? Well, its Ortega's wife who has her according to the blurb, and even though it was technically McCoy who killed Ortega in the end - the blackstaff is awesome, you've got to love a guy who will drop a satellite on the bad guys when he gets pissed off, i imagine that Ortegas wife will still hold Harry responsible as it was him that Ortega went to chicago to duel. And i don't think that a major league red court vamp will have any real problems with hurting a child, so yes i think they would.

Thanks Munny, it's the first time the new blokey has dealt with it. I got up at 3:30 for two hours and read because I was tossing and turning so badly and disturbing him. I managed roughly 2 and half hours sleep on Friday. Was very pissed off and grumpy all day Saturday till I had wine and then Ta-Da perked right up.

I did google David Copperfield and guesstimated Harry's name and came to a similar conclusion. Why does my mind drift to Harry when I can't sleep?

I'll give the Alera ones ago. Got loads of reading to do for my course so will have to try and slot them in somewhere.

_____________________________

"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path."

3 weeks to go, and then some questions will be answered.........and a bunch more will be asked

Did you know that JB is planning 20 dresden files, and then a big apocolyptic trilogy to finish the series?! Plus he has an epic fantasy series in mind. Plus any additions to the Codex Alera. The man is a writing machine!

20 dresden files, plus the additional 3 for the ending trilogy so that's 23 books, and he's doing some more short stories too - rumour has it that these will be released in a compilation which hopefully will be available in the UK.

So there is plenty more Dresden to come! And JB gets the TV rights back next year, so with any luck a decent network will make a bid and do the series justice on the small screen!

So much potential! And with 12 books + short stories already out, there is already enough material for 3 series of programming. A decent special effects budget and some recognisible (but not too expensive actors - i've said it before, but Seth Green as Butters would be perfect, i'd also put some grey streaks in Wesley Snipes' hair and have him as Morgan - he's skint and has trouble with the taxman so i'm sure he'd take the gig) and you'd be onto a ratings winner!

If you are interested, there are a couple of chapters from Changes up on the Dresden website now - i am studiously avoiding them as i don't have the patience to read a couple of chapters and then have to stop!

I want to go and get it now, but know I'll have no time to read it between now and Monday!

Tempting very tempting!

Yep! Not sure if any other stores other than Waterstones have broken the release date, but i've just spent most of my lunch hour reading Not going to spoil anything for you, but its kicking off big-style already!

I am not sure which bit of London you are in, but Waterstones on London Wall, just down from Liverpool Street station had half a dozen copies on the shelves.

I'm sure i read somewhere that fighting temptation is bad for you - and its a 4 day weekend!

I am indeed a Londoner. A sauf-east Londoner to be more specific! And my office is just up from Moorgate tube station, so that Waterstones is nice and convenient for release day (or in this case, before release day) purchases!